,D 65 
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A 



NEW SCHEME 



mmimn imicfioi uii goviimiit 



FOR THE 



IMRSITY OF MAM 



REPORT ON CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDIN8. 



BY JAMES T. MURFEE, 

ARCHITECT ; AND LATE COMMANDANT OF CADETS. 



iHuskaloosa, Qiia. 



PRINTED BT JOHN F. WAEKEN. 
• 1867. 



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A 



NEW SCHEME 



II 



MERSITY OF MUM. 



WITH 




REPORT ON GONSTRyCTION OF BUILDING. 



BY JAMES T. MURFEE, 

ARCHITECT ; AND LATE COMMANDANT OF CADETS. 



(Euskaloosa, ^la. 




S-RINTED BT JOHN F. WABREN. 

1867. 






H2 






ARCHITECT'S OFFICE, 

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, 
December Ist, 1867. 



To His Excellency, R. M, Pat ton, 

President of Board Trustees, 

University/ of Alabama : 

SIR: 

In compliance with the obligations of my office, I 
have the honor to present, for your consideration, the general 
characteristics of the design for the University Building, 
and the peculiar co)istruction and adaptations of that por- 
tion now under contract. 

At your last meeting, held in the City of Montgomery, 
the plan, embracing four sides ol a square, enclosing an 
interior open court, then and there submitted by me, was 
adopted. To provide for the largest number of students at 
least cost, the rear side, or line, of this square, containing 
the kitchen, bakery, store-rooms, cellars, closets, dumb 
•waiters, mess -hall, steward's -room, laboratories, cabinets, 
libraries, recitation-rooms, dormitories, and hospitals, was, 
by your good judgment, ordered to be first erected; and in 
accordance wi\^ this economical and well adapted scheme, 
your "Building Committee" is now constructing this por- 
tion, and providing for the health, comfort, government, 
and thorough instruction of nearly two hundred students. 

Means to complete the design, by constructing the front 
and flanks of the square, including the more costly and 
rarely used public halls, with additional dormitories, will 
be available when needed, if the po'iicy of the institution 
be such as to secure patronage. 



In determining ihe site of the new building, two places 
presented themselves. One, on the campus, the front line 
ranging between the locations of the old Madison and 
Franklin, the centre building resting on the site of the Ro- 
tunada, and the area of the plan occupying the beautiful 
grove in front of the Lyceum. The other, north of the cam- 
pus, the front line resting on the avenue which passes in front 
of the houses formerly occupied by Professors Wyman 
and DeLofFre, the centre building being on the site of the 
Lyceum, and the area of the plan resting further north and 
to the rear. The claims of each of these situations were 
maturely considered by your Committee, and the location 
last described, was selected. 

* If built on the campus, the drainage to the nearest ravine 
and the supply of water from the spring, would have been 
more difficult and expensive. The beautiful and valuable 
grove of oaks, between the ruins of the Rotunda and Lyce- 
um, would have been demolished. For access to the build- 
ing, gateways would have been required in the fence 
which encloses the campus. Through these openings, 
stock would have found entrance to the grounds, and pre- 
vented, as hitherto, further ornamentation by trees, shrub-r 
bery, statuary, and flowers. 

Apart from these objections, however, had the pleasure 
grounds been further curtailed in extent, ihe capacity for 
the enjoyment of the scenery and building, as well as for 
promenades and exercise, would have been small compared 
to what will, under the present arrangements, be obtained 
in their extended walks and pleasant shaaes. There stu- 
dents, officers, ladies, gentlemen, and children may meet, 
as in the parks of a city, for social conversation, mental 
and physical recreation. 

In the present location, the drainage and supply of water 
is more readily and cheaply obtained ; and the domestic 
arrangements are thrown where they will neither be seen 
ijor give offence. The campus being cleared of buildings, 



vehicles will never enter; stiles will replace the gates j 
and the enclosure being complete, animals cannot injure 
the trees and shrubbery. Thus protected from depredations 
to which it has hitherto been exposed, every tree and flower 
that may be planted will flourish ; and, in a few years, 
with but little cost and trouble, this may be made one of 
the most beautiful landscapes in the South. 

The residences of the professors already surround and 
front this park. The new .building occupies a position 
directly opposite the President's Mansion, and, by its breadth 
and height, commands the whole scene. Excellent roads 
encircle the campus, and pass in front of all the buildings, 
just as the avenues and houses of a city encompass a park. 
The spectator, when driving in front of the college edifice, 
will, on one side, be charmed with the beauties of the land- 
scape ; and, on the other, elevated with sublimity, while 
contemplating the massive proportions of the commanding 
structure. 

The style of architecture is Tudor Gothic, and is consis- 
tent with the principles of a refined taste in every detail. 
It is peculiarly expressive for a military establishment, and 
maybe highly esteemed for a civil college. The buttresses, 
which are one of the prominent features, contribute much 
to ornament, and, by allowing walls of much less thickness, 
reduce the cost very materially. 

Each side of the square Avill be three hundred and thirty 
feel long, and the interior court will measure two hundred 
and fifty feet on every side. There will be but one en- 
trance from without. This being closed during study 
hours, disturbing intruders will be shut out ; and students, 
confined to their quiet rooms. In recreation hours, the 
gateway will be thrown open, and every encouragement 
given to exercise and play on the fresh and inviting cam- 
pus, with its long shady walks, pleasant company, and 
expansive grounds. 

The doors of all the rooms are glazed above the lock 



rail, and open out on wide galleries, which surround each 
floor of the building on the interior and court side. To 
pass from one room to another, the students must necessa- 
rily come out, and walk some distance, on the gallery.. 
One person on duty in the court will have under his eye 
all the doors ; and no student can visit in study hours with- 
out being quickly detected. Noise Avill be heard through 
the open transoms ; lights at improper hours will show 
through the glass ; and an officer on the colonade can 
discover any improprieties. 

The galleries, supported below by beautiful pressed 
brick arcades, and above by cast iron colonades, and pro-> 
tected along their entire length interiorly by wrought iron 
Tailing, run more than one thousand feet on each floor, 
.and, in total length, stretch more than one mile. They 
are necessary and only pass ways between rooms; they 
shade and make comfortable the building ; and, in rainy 
weather, they are valuable promenades for exercise. 

On one side of the arched way which leads from the 
exterior of the building to the interior court, there is a 
reception room for gentlemen ; and, on the other side, there 
is a similar one for ladies. By this disposition, it will 
never be necessary for visitors to enter students' rooms 
during study hours, and disturb the attention of the occu- 
pants. From these reception rooms, broad stair ways lead 
to the large public hall on the second floor. While visitors 
hereby enter from the exterior, students go directly from 
their rooms along the interior galleries ; and, on dispersing, 
the former pass one way, and the latter the other. 

Two spacious society halls are on the ground floor just 
below the large public hall, or exhibition room. To these, 
there is an outer entrance for visitors, and an inner en- 
trance for students. 

When lodged on the first floor, young men are less heal- 
thy;' they are disturbed by hucksters and by idle fellows 
from the outside ; and, at night, they escape through the 



■windows for improper purposes. To prevent these evils, 
the lower floor of our building is appropriated for society 
halls, rooms for the lodging and entertainment of the Board 
of Trustees, libraries, laboratories, cabinets, recitation, 
rooms, closets, baths, offices, store-rooms, mess-halls, and 
other apartments for general use. The students are all 
above the ground floor, where they are healthfully, comfor- 
tably, and quietly situated. 

By means of steam pipes in the cellar and a current of 
fresh and pure air driven by Meig's revolving fan, in the 
winter, every room will be constantly supplied with a cir- 
culation of warm air, changing every minute. In the cold- 
est weather, the occupants will enjoy a delightful spring 
temperature without unhealthful or unpleasant currents. In , 
the hottest days of summer, cold fresh air will be forced by 
the fan into the building, which, with high ceilings, shading 
galleries, and ventilators, will lower the temperature, and 
preserve comfort. 

On each floor, there are two suites of water closets and 
bath rooms ; and boys will have no excuse for going out 
in study hours, where they generally spend too much time 
in idleness. A hot and a cold bath being in a few steps of 
their doors, and accessible. at all hours, they will avail them- 
selves of this health-giving means much oftener than when 
compelled to visit a distant, and often unpleasantly cold, 
spring-house. 

The building is, for the most part, three stories high, 
but the middle portions of the front and rear sides are four. 
On the fourth floor of the rear side, over the mess hall, 
is located the hospital. A dumb waiter and speaking 
tubes communicate between the dining room in the first 
story and the hospital in the fourth. Food and medicines 
are conveyed by one ; and messages, by the other. The 
great majority of sick who go to the hospital are but slight- 
ly indisposed ; and, when sent to a detached building, they 
take advantage of the opportunity and go to town for 



8 

dissipation. In our hospital, these malaise patients Will 
be as much under eye as in any other rooms; and the 
really sick will be above noise, and in the purest air. 

Hot and cold water will be supplied by a steam purap 
and iron pipes to every part of the building. By fire 
plugs and hose on each gallery, any fire can be readily 
■ extinguished. The boiler and engine at the spring, which 
force the water to the building, will enable the washing 
to be done at prices much below what would be charged 
by individuals in the neighborhood. Excellent and cheap 
gas will be made of the Tuskaloosa coal for the entire 
establishment. 

With such provisions for quietness and seclusion, during 
^ study hours, with perfectly systematic habits, enforced by 
regulations, with wholesome and prescribed food, with a 
class and dormitory discipline which secures application 
to study, and with the opportunities and inducements to 
play and exercise on the campus, we may reasonably ex- 
pect to produce a degree of mental and physical vigor yet 
unattained by any college of the, South* 

Such are the general features and advantages which the 
building will present when the full design shall have beeri 
carried out ; and I trust the day is. not far distant, when the 
popularity and usefulness of the college will necessitate, 
and provide for, the final extension. Upon your judgment, 
this usefulness, popularity, and completion depend. As 
trustees of some rare institutions, under circumstances 
more unpropitious, have, by wise policies, filled their halls 
with students, and then easily formed means to extend their 
accommodations, so will you, by the exercise of that good 
judgment which has marked your beginning, be enabled to 
crowd the rooms which are now building, and thereby make 
the necessity, and find the means for, this completion. 

^ In your deliberations on this subject, it is a matter of 
first importance that you should be acquainted with all the 
special arrangements and adaptations of that portion of the 



design now under contract; for these determine the cost 
of administration and the degree of perfection in class and 
dormitory discipline. 

In submitting the original plans, I announced that the 
one proposed, Avas best adapted for thorough government 
and economical direction. The foregoing general descrip* 
tion, has shown you what is the full design ; and a more 
minute detail of the various rooms now building, and 
their relations to each other, Avill prove that every dispo- 
sition contributes to order, comfort, and economy. 

About the first of June, 1868, you will have completed, 
and ready for occupation, ten spacious recitation rooms 
with class libraries adjoining; forty-seven dormitories, 
accommodating four students each ; one large mess hall, 
capable of seating five hundred persons ; one steward's 
room ; one dining room for officers ; one large kitchen ; 
one bake room ; four store rooms ; and all necessary closets. 

Under the entire building, there is a cellar seven feet 
deep, in which are arranged all the passages and flues iot 
the steam pipes and other heating apparatus. The founda- 
tion walls are laid well below the bottom of this cellar, and 
the beds are thoroughly compressed by heavy beetles* 
All the masonry is constructed in the best possible man- 
ner, laid in sound and regular bond, grouted in every 
course, and set in mortar, composed of one-third lime and 
two-thirds selected sand. The corners of the walls, below 
ground, are abutted with heavy projecting masses of mason- 
ry, to prevent the vertical cracking and separation which is 
60 commonly observed. Arches are thrown over all the 
doors, windows, and other openings, lo sustain the super- 
incumbent weight ; and all the brick work is so complete- 
ly self-sustaijiing that the burning of the wood work will 
not destroy the walls. The copings and offsets are of sand 
stone, set in hydraulic cement. The lumber is carefully 
selected heart, and seasoned according to a regular stand- 
ard by weight. The partition and roof frames are iron 



10 

king-post trusses, put together in the most Avorkmanlikfe 
manner. The joists are very deep, and closely set. The 
floors, doors, and other joinery will be tightly fitted, strongs 
durable, and chaste. 

No money has been expended for mere ornament, but 
a handsome appearance is produced by good proportions, 
and the relief of light and shade. The beauty of fitness is 
found in every arrangement- and there is, in all the work 
of this building for young men, a masculine expression of 
neatness, simplicity, and strength.-^— The mouldings are well 
relieved, and all the curves are bold. 

The recitation rooms are, for the most part, on the ground 
floor, and in the tower corners. Those for chemistry, min- 
eralogy, and geology are arranged in one suite, communi- 
cating by doors, for the convenience of one professor, or 
the accommodation of three. These have all the necessary 
flues for laboratory furnaces, and suitable spaces for cabinets 
and apparatus. Each professor will have, in the tower 
adjoining his recitation room, a comfortable private study, 
where he can be retired when not employed with his classes. 
This is a matter of more importance than at first might 
appear. For several years to come, it will be necessary 
for the professors to teach four or five hours per day ; and, 
when not employed in recitations, they should be preparing 
experiments and illustrations for their classes. A pleasant, 
home-like room, adjoining, will do much towards attaching 
the officer to his place of business, and devoting him to the 
advancement of his pupils. The prosperity of a college 
depends upon the amount of labor bestowed by professors, 
and any thing which promotes such attention, must benefit 
the institution. 

The dormitories are sufficiently large for four students 
each, and those now building, will accommodate one himd- 
red and eighty-eight. By means of high ceilings, ventila* 
ting flues, large windows, transomed doors, and broad sha- 
ding colonades, they are made most agreeable places of 



11 

residence. There can be no visiting between rooms, with- 
out its being discovered ; and one person on duty will be 
able to preserve better order than many could have done in 
a building otherwise planned ; and, when the whole design 
shall have been carried out, one officer will still suffice 
for government. Indeed, with any degree of system and 
fidelity, there will occur no irregularities worthy of serious 
consideration. * 

Students Avill police their own rooms, and dust-flues will 
carry off all the sweepings. Until the steam pump is put 
up, water must be carried by hand to the rooms ; but the 
waste vvill be conducted down and away by iron pipes. 
One servant Avill suffice for all the dormitories and recita- 
tion rooms, and when the heating apparatus is constructed, 
his services will not be required. 

It is designed, and I think it a matter of importance, that 
the steward shall be an unmarried man. He can be pro- 
cured for a much less salary, and the expense of boarding 
him will not be one-tenth of what is usually consumed and 
appropriated by those who have their families and stock fed 
by the institution. He should be required to discharge 
faithfully and efficiently well defined duties, and his entire 
department should be inspected daily by the Superintend- 
ent, who should have power to discharge him at any time. 

Directed by the demands of the patrons, the Trustees, 
before the opening of each session, can establish,and publish 
a bill of fare for every day of the year. It should be the 
duty of the steward to provide in advance the required 
stores of the best quality, and have them served daily as 
called for by the bill of fare — each article thoroughly cooked, 
and well seasoned. If any student find a dish missing, or 
badly prepared, it should be his privilege and duty to report 
the fact, with proof, to the Superintendent. The fault will 
then be immediately traced to the proper delinquent, and 
Steps taken to remove the cause. 

The fare is a source of more frequent dissatisfaction than 



12 

any other. The common remedy for this evil is sought in 
some particular man of long experience, who has the 
assistance of wife and daughters. This is a very expensive 
and, generally, inefRcient remedy. He demands as much 
for his services as a learned professor, and takes from the 
commissary stores supplies for numerous children, servants, 
horses, hogs, and cows. The articles which he should pre- 
pare are unspecified, and whe^i a student justly complains 
of deficiency in variety or quantity of provisions, or of 
bad cooking, the steward, being amenable to no written or 
well defined requirements, escapes discipline ; and, although 
he may continue delinquent, he is retained in office till 
the reputation of the school is seriously impaired. The 
remedy here suggested, is new in this University ; but I am 
convinced that it will obviate all the difficulties. A short 
time, by the assistance of a good cookery-book, will teach 
a young man how to have prepared all the food that stu- 
dents require ; and the responsibility to which he is held, 
with the fear of discharge, will stimulate him to the highest 
exertion. For the accommodation of such a man, I have 
provided a room on the first floor, adjoining and commu- 
nicating with the dining hall. 

By having a "dish port," or small opening, between the 
hall and the kitchen, the servants will not be required, nor 
allowed, to quit tlieir places by the tables; and half the 
number will give better attention than the whole would, if 
allowed an opportunity to loiter in the kitchen. One wait- 
er to fifty students, with proper table regulations, will be 
sufficient. One cook, one baker, and one scullion, for one 
hundred and ninety, will be ample. 

The kitchen slops will make a large amount of milk and 
bacon ; and the animals will enrich a garden so as to pro- 
duce all the vegetables. Better and cheaper board can be 
furnished by the department than by private families ; and 
the institution will derive all the advantage of increased 
numbers, induced to come by cheap and good living. 



13 

Having served all my life as professor and disciplinarian 
in civil and military colleges, and having devotecl much 
time to architectural design and execution, I have been 
enabled to plan and construct this building, which, I con- 
ceive, possesses rare advantages for a university of the high- 
est order. 

My interest in the welfare of my adopted State, and a 
worthy ambition to have the college so prosper as to justify 
the completion of the design, will, I trust, be sufficient ex- 
cuse for a few suggestions on a system of administration, 
combined with a course of studies, which, if carried out, 
will secure to this institution a popularity and patronage 
that will soon justify the completion of the .building, and 
advance the cause of sound learning throughout the State. 

To command the patronage of our own citizens and 
those of other States, we must furnish, at less price, an edu- 
cation of greater value to a greater number, and apply to 
students more powerful motives for study, than any other 
rival college. Then two questions arise. 1st. What edu- 
cation is of greatest value to the greatest number ? 2d. What 
is the highest combination of motives for the acquisition of 
knowledge ? That system which, by appropriate studies, 
develops and strengthens the mind of each pupil, and best 
prepares him for his special business of life, will certainly 
be the one of the greatest value to the greatest number. 
Rewards and punishments, combined with the spirit of em- 
ulation, are the most powerful means for inducing labor, — 
either. mental or physical. 

Hitherto, there has been but two systems of education in 
the United States. One is the classical course, Avhich came 
down, through England, from the monastic institutions of 
Europe, and has for its object, the education of the lawyer 
and the divine. The other is the • scientific and military 
system, which was introduced into America by the United 
States Military Academy, at West Point, New York, and 
has for its object the preparation of the engineer and army 



14 

officer. Each of these systems has its virtues and its faults. 
Classical colleges were formerly conducted with a regu- 
lar, prescribed, course of Latin, Greek, and Mathematics ; 
and all of their students were required to pursue the same 
studies. Being associated together in all of their classes for 
four years, a spirit of emulation Avas excited ; and the sym- 
pathy arising from a common pursuit, induced application. 
The distinction given to two of the best scholars on com- 
mencement day, was a further motive for mental exertion. 
The subjects of Latin, Greek, and Mathematics were well 
adapted to strengthening and disciplining the mind. The 
knowledge acquired, eminently qualified the graduate for 
the pulpit or the bar. 

Under the close, or regular system, these were the virtues 
of classical colleges ; but they had many deficiencies and 
imperfections. The members of the classes had not suf- 
ficient individual responsibility. The rewards were not 
sufficiently numerous to stimulate each pupil, and punish- 
ments Avere not attached to continued neglect. The classes 
of thirty or forty were so large that a particular individual 
did not recite more than once in four or five days ; and, 
where the lecture system obtained, as was usual, a student 
did not perform more than once in two or three Aveeks. 
Then he ansAvered only a fcAv leading questions. Knowing 
quite certainly that no recitation Avould be required, boys 
did not prepare their lessons. Having one day been ques^ 
tioned by the professor, the young man, by the theorem of 
probabilities or by the opinion of some good guesser, would 
reckon the time Avhen another question might come to him. 
The evening before the expected performance, he would 
sometimes glance at imperfect notes, borrowed from his 
neighbor j but if habits of idleness, acquired by having 
generally nothing to do, if room mates, expecting no reci? 
tation, if a visit, or if a frolic, induced the pupil, he Avould 
forego the study, and trust to luck. If compelled by supe- 
jipr dormitory discipline to remain, quietly in quarters, h.e 



10 

slept ill his chair, or conversed on distracting subject* 
And if, next day, he was called, and failed to make satisfac* 
tory recitation, no direct punishment was given ; and, if he 
studied diligently and recited well, no immediate reward 
was found. 

Men do not labor without motives, and boys are less 
disposed. Who Avould toil from day to day, and from year 
to year, without the hope of reward or the fear of punish- 
ment? What merchant would harrass his mind by goods 
to be sold, debts to be collected, and bills to be paid, or 
travel over land and sea, risking his life, without the hope 
of fortune, or the fear of penury ? What farmer would 
burn in the summer's sun, or sicken in miasmatic svvamps, 
if neglect was not attended by empty barns and a suffering 
family, and if attention was not followed by full stores and 
a happy household ? The hope of reward and the fear of 
punishment, combined Avith the pride of emulation, must 
be made to bear directly on all whom we would excite 
to physical labor, or mental work. 

By association in regular and permanent classes, and by 
rewarding two graduates on commencement day, colleges 
did, under the close system, apply the principles of emula- 
tion and rewards in some degree. The application was 
very imperfect, it is true ; but it was nevertheless valuable 
and necessary ; and, to it chiefly, was owing the scholar- • 
ship under the old regime. 

Without these elaments, less would have been accom- 
plished. — The truth of this assertion is susceptible of prac- 
tical, as well as theoretical, demonstration ; and it is estab- 
lished in fact by the decline in scholarship wherever the 
regular classes have .been broken up, and the course 'has 
been made elective. 

Under the close system, no student could matriculate 
without prosecuting the entire course. He could not con- 
tinue at college, without pursuing subjects which disciplin- 
ed his mind. Latin, Greek, and Mathematics gave mental 



. • 16 ' 

pdwer. The attention being directed to these excellent 
subjects, with some slight hope of reward on commence- 
ment day, the student derived much benefit ; but the gain 
was small compared to what it would have been under a 
perfect system of daily, searching recitations, with high 
rewards, and certain punishments. 

Besides this imperfect class- discipline, there were two 
other fundamental defects in classical colleges. 1st. They 
Were not adapted to the demands of this practical and 
scientific age. They did not furnishan education, suited 
for all classes of society. 2nd. Their methods of teaching 
mathematics and its applications were inefficient. 

That successful and distinguished educator, Maj. Gent 
Francis H. Srnilh, says : ." The education that was furnish* 
ed was based upon the wants of what are called the learned 
professions, and all who entered college, with whatever 
pursuit in view, were required to go through the same 
course of studies that is prescribed for the lawyer, the 
physician, and the divine. While the public demand was 
for a knowledge of those sciences by which labor might 
be profitably directed, the agriculturalist, the manufacturer, 
the mechanic, and the merchant, was conipelled to study 
Latin, Greek, and Logic, or he could not think of coveting 
an academic degree." Dr. Wayland correctly and forcibly 
explained why the colleges of the United States did not keep 
pace with the progress of the age. He says : "We have 
constructed them upon the idea that they are to be schools 
of preparation for the learned profession*. Our customers, 
therefore, come from the smallest class of society, and the 
importance of the education which we furnish, is not so 
universally acknowledged as formerly, even by this class. 
We have produced an article for which the demand is 
diminishing. We sell it at less than cost, and the deficien- 
cy is made up by charity." « 

This learned man was among the first who discovered 
the grand defect in the course of college studies ; and saou 



17 

thereafter, a more powerful voice than his, sounded in rici 
equivocal tone. It Avas the voice of wealth and enterprise^ 
demanding a course of studies suited for the various occu- 
pations of life ; and money was withheld from all who 
would not heed. As usual, capital controlled labor ; and 
colleges, with all their prejudices, yielded to patrons. The 
latter said : Allow our sons to study what they most need, 
or Ave Avill not sustain you. The former answered : We 
contend that all Avho come to college should study Latin, 
Greek, and Mathematics ; but Ave cannot live Avithout 
your patronage, and if you Avill not yield, your sons shall 
study Avhat they like. 

Thus Avas first introduced into colleges for boys, the elec- 
tive or open system ; and for the last ten or fifteen yearsj 
this policy has been progressing at so rapid a rate that 
now there is scarcely a college Avhich has not drifted from 
its ancient and safe anchorage into the Avide sea of uncer- 
tainty. This change had the appearance of removing the 
fault of inadaptation to the demands of the age; but the 
appearance Avas most deceptive. 

By this ncAv policy, a student is alloAved to select any 
subject his ignorance or laziness may suggest; but the 
motives and incentives to application are removed. A 
greater latitude is given the boy Avhen he enters college ; 
but during the session, he is not encouraged nor stimulated 
to study. Now, he is alloAved to choose, but is not made 
to Avork. Before, he Avas not alloAved any choice, but he 
Avas, to some extent, encouraged to labor. Since it is 
study and recitation Avhich are most essential ill developing 
the mind, it is clear that the exchange Avhich has been made, 
is that of the substance for the shadoAV. 

Another great objection to the elective system arises frofti 
the deficient preparation of young men. ,The schools of 
the country are very superficial, and boys get very restive 
there. Before they are properly prepared^ they present 
themselves for admission into college, and are allowed to 



is 

make their own selection of studies. Are they qualified 
to reach a wise conclusion in a subject of such importance 
and difficuhy ? Do they not, generally, select those subjecst 
which require the least effort? Unquestionably, this has 
been the result where the elective system has been adopted. 
The parent generally decides, simply, what pursuit in life 
the son is to follow ; but neither the one nor the other 
knows what means are best adapted to the end ; and the 
college does not decide the question, as it should cfo. 
. The young man wishes to become an engineer, an a:gri- 
culturalist, or a man of commerce ; he does not know ex- 
actly what studies and methods will best qualify him^ and 
the university does not indicate the special course, nor does 
it provide practical and thorough methods of instruction. 

In answer to the boy's inquiries, made with a view to' 
deciding his studies, the literary officers c*bmmonly reply :■ 
We think every one should study Latin, Greek, and Mathe- 
inatics, as formerly ; but we now have the open system/ 
and you can take what you prefer. The. young man thus 
left to his own immature judgment, selects what, to his 
untutored mind, seems best suited or least difficult. He 
finds himself in would-be scientific pursuits, unencouraged 
by the classicaL professors, and the methods of instruction 
by these learned men are not calculated to advance the 
scientific student. 

Without sympathy, without constant and regular associ- 
ates in study, without any hope of reward, without any 
fear -of punishment, without responsibility, and without 
emulation, he soon loses interest in his lectures, concludes 
his selection a, bad one, and abandons the pursuit of 
knowledge. About this time, many others have reached 
}he same conclusion, and they now organize themselves 
into a new and regular class of jolly fellows. They form 
a ciub, wherein there is the sympathy of a common pur- 
suit, wherein each will be rewarded by happy hours of 
idleness and dissipation, and wherein there shall be emula- 
tion in liberality and extravagance. 



19 

The exceedingly small number who persevere in the pur" 
suit of science, with the- inefficient methods of instruction, 
rarely make practical men ; and the few who apply them- 
selves to classics, surrounded by circumstances so unpropi- 
tious, do not make such scholars as were educated under 
the close system. Indeed, the elective has magnified the 
faults, and abandoned the virtues, of the regular system, 
without accomplishing the new object proposed ; and so 
far, the effort of classical colleges to adapt themselves to 
the demands of the age has resulted in signal failure. 

4-11 spirit of emulation is removed. The student has no 
regular associates in study. He is at one hour in one class 
.and the next hour in anolher. He comes in competition 
with no regular rivals, and is not specially rewarded nor 
directly punished. He is required to do but little, and that 
little he may neglect Avith impunity. To expect success, 
under such circumstances, is simply preposterous. The ex- 
pectation always has been, and always will be, disappointed. 

In some cases, military dormitory discipline has been in- 
voked, to prevent the riotous disorders and irregularities 
incident to this open system; and while it has succeeded 
in accomplishing much good in this direction, the defec- 
tive class discipline has not allowed muclj, if any, im- 
provement in scholarship. There being no incentives to 
study, the boys, when compelled to remain quietly seated 
in their rooms, spend their time jn sleep, or in idle and 
distracting conversation. 

This open, or university system, however, will answer 
well for grown young men, who, having passed through 
the ordinary college course, wish to extend and perfect 
•their knowledge upon particular branches. But two or 
three such institutions are sufficient for the whole United 
States, and they may now be found in the more northern 
countries. These institutions provide lecturers, who dis- 
course most learnedly to large audiences. Those who 
have been previously trained in regular colleges, can ap- 



20 

predate these lectures ; and having arrived at that age and 
experience when the requirements of life and the love of 
knowledge stimulate to application, they are diligent in 
study. But these establishments are as unfitted for the 
youth in his first college course, as Homer is for the child 
in his English alphabet. The subjects are beyond his capac- 
ity, and the rewards for study and the punishments for 
neglect are too remote and uncertain. 

Having shown that classical colleges for boys have some 
merits and some demerits, and that when they have been 
made elective, nothing really good has been gained, while 
nearly all that was valuable has been lost, we propose next 
to exhibit the military system of schools, and show their 
advantages and their disadvantages. 

These schools were first introduced into America by the 
United States Government, at West Point, New York. 
The model was upon the Polytechnic School, of Paris. 
The object in the establishment was to educate engineers 
and disciplinary officers for the army. Its organization, 
course of studies, methods of instruction, class and barrack 
discipline, were admirably adapted to the object in view. 
It was designed for a special purpose, and the means used 
were wisely selected. 

Upon this model, a few of the States have organized 
military schools for the benefit of their own commonwealths. 
These State institutions have been designed to prepare 
militia officers, engineers, and teachers of mathematics and 
sciences. They have used the same methods of instruc- 
tion and the same system of rewards and punishments, 
combined with emulation, as are applied at West Point. 

Although receiving and matriculating boys too poorly 
prepared to gain admission into other colleges, these schools, 
by their mental and physical training, have graduated a 
class of men who have made a more profound impression 
upon the system of teaching and upon the material pros- 
perity of their States, than a like number of graduates of 



21 

any other institution. This power of the system tomakej 
in so short a time, so great an amount of excellence, from 
material so poor, has given to these institutions an exalted 
reputation. 

Many have erroneously supposed that their chief excel- 
lence lies in. the military parade and barrack discipline. 
As necessary as is the former for exercise, where all must 
study, and as valuable as is the latter for preserving quie- 
tude in the rooms, and holding the cadets to quarters, yet it 
is not by these means chiefly, that military academies se- 
cure so much mental labor ; but it is by class discipline, — 
by rewards, punishments, and emulations. 

The classes are divided into sections of twelve or fifteen 
members each. Each section recites an hour daily. The 
lesson is studied in the text-book previously. Each student 
is compelled to recite with his same . fellows every day. 
He must demonstrate to the professor, in the clearest man- 
ner, the subject of each lesson. He lectures, and not the 
professor. His knowledge must be exhibited, not the teach- 
er's. It is more important to improve the pupil than to ex- 
hibit the preceptor. 

Besides the recitation of the hour, original questions are 
proposed for solution ; and for success in these, special re- 
wards are given. The questions on all the previous lessons 
of the text are reviewed daily ; and the student is not al- 
lowed to simply answer questions that are found in the lext. 
The book is not opened, by professor or student, in the class 
room. The ideas of the lesson must be expressed in other 
language. He who has, by close study of the text, obtain- 
ed the most comprehensive ideas of the subject, will receive 
the highest mark. 

The numerical grades of scholarship are recorded by the 
teacher. At the close of each week, a written report is 
made to the superintendent. The daily class-marks are 
then permanently entered on the books of the academy. 
On tlie Monday following, the§p class reports are posted on, 



the bulletin board for inspection by students and visitors. 
At the close of each month, the class standing and conduct 
are reported to the parent or guardian. Every six months, 
there is a rigid examinationj v/hen the cadets are graded in 
the classes according to merit. A report is made of these 
examinations, to the President or Governor, and the print- 
ed documents are circulated throughout the country. Those 
who have persistently neglected their duties and are defi- 
cient in scholarship, being an injury to the institution, and 
not benefitting themselves, are dismissed. Their places are 
immediately filled by others more worthy. No persistent 
idlers being allowed to remain, and all being encouraged 
to study by the strongest motives, these schools present an 
activity unequalled. 

The application of cadets to study is not excelled by the 
energy of the most avaricious in the great commercial 
marts of the world. And the same motives impel the one 
as the other ; — individual responsibility, the hope of reward^ 
and the fear of punishment, combined with i.he pride of 
emulation. There is no moment of a cadet's life when he 
is not feeling his individual responsibility, when good 
conduct and study will not be directly rewarded, when 
neglect will not be immediately punished, and when appli- 
cation will not raise him above his less dutiful fellows. If 
each particular lesson has not been prepared, he will sink 
in his class. That mark, once lost, can not be regained. 
There is no chance nor luck. To the most persevering and 
diligent, belong the college honors. The same emulation 
extends to every member of the class. Indeed, it has fre- 
quently been remarked that those lower in the scale con- 
tend more earnestly for their standing than others who are 
higher. 

The military discipline, which preserves order on the 
drill ground, quietness in quarters, and decorum in the 
city, does not secure the great amount of study which 
qbtains at these institutionso Young men may, by the 



system of rewards and punishments, be changed frorri 
rowdies in conduct to gentlemen in manners; but if not 
placed at the same time under a class discipline similar in 
principle, these gentlemen v/ill not devote themselves to 
study. To adopt the military drill and dormitory^ regula- 
tions and omit the class discipline, is to select the least 
valuable, and discard the most important. 

But these military schools, in which there has been such 
excellence of scholarship in the subjects there pursued, have 
not produced what is commonly called scholars. They 
have graduated men eminent in mathematics, natural phi- 
losophy, engineering, and the art and science of war. 
They have excelled in doing what they proposed to do; 
but masters of war, of philosophy, and of engineering, are 
not yet, in America, called scholars ; and hence tiiese insti- 
tutions have been pronounced deficient in scholarship. If, 
by scholarship, we are to understand a thorough knowl- 
edge of the subjects studied. West Point justly deserves to 
be ranked first ; but if, by scholarship, we mean a critical 
knowledge of Latin and Greek, the academy has none, and 
professes none. 

The truth is, that these institutions do not provide for a 
classical education, which is so valuable and essential to 
the learned world. Besides, sufficient attention is not given 
to English composition. Just here, rests the great objec- 
tion to exactly such a college for our State. The course of 
wisdom for us is to organize our University upon a plan 
which shall possess all the advantages of the classical col- 
leges, as they were in their best days, under the close sys- 
tem, combined with the scientific and practical methods of 
instruction, and the class and the barrack discipline, of the 
best military institutions. Select from each what is valua- 
ble, and reject that which is not good. Seeing what is 
needed, let us adopt means that will secure the object. 

Alabama needs here a college for boys. We have not a 
sufficient number of college graduates, in this and the 



neighboring States,. desiring to pursue a further course of 
study in a university, to sustain one professor. If we de- 
pend upon such patronage our halls will be vacant. — Our 
pupils are to come from very elementary grammar schools, 
they are quite young, their preparation has been miserably 
defective, and they depend almost entirely upon this institu- 
tion for their mental and physical training. 

These boys come here, to have their minds disciplined 
to habits and powers of thought ; and they want to pursue 
such studies as will best prepare them for the business of 
life, — some occupation by which their fortunes may be 
madcj and their happiness secured. Some of them wish to 
become divines ; some, lawyers ; some, commercial men ; 
some, agriculturalists ; and others, engineers. 

They must all be accommodated, and the professors must 
be required to teach them thoroughly. Now, if Ave can 
adopt a scheme which will secure competency and enforce 
fidelity, on the part of professors, make students diligent 
in their studies and prepare them for the business of life, 
this institution will, at once, be raised above the machina- 
tions of enemies, and will not require the charity of friends.' 

To accomplish this, we propose four special courses of 
study, each designed for a particular pursuit in life, taught 
by dutiful, efficient, and practical men. The University 
will then embrace four colleges, each with a close system : 

1. A Classical College^ for Physicians^ Lawyers, and 
Divines. 

2. A College for Civil, Military, Mining, and ' Mechani- 
cal Engineers. 

3. An Agricultural College. 

4. A Commercial College. 

Each of these should be special, and equal to the best of 
its kind. In them all, English composition should consti- 
tute a prominent feature. No school in America has yet 
taught this subject in that practical and thorough manner 
which its importance demands. Macaulay says: "It is 

.3 



25 

not by the study of grammar that we acquire a thorougli 
knowledge of our vernacular, but by writing." The boy 
should study practically English composition, from the day 
of matriculation to the day of graduation. He should criti- 
cise and discuss daily English sentences at the black board, 
just as mathematical problems are explained by cadets in 
military schools. Besides these exercises in the recitation 
room, an article on some familiar subject, prepared the 
night previous, should be presented daily. The professor 
should be required to indicate the errors, and cause the 
student to correct them. In this way, instead of one grad- 
uate in twenty who can write correctly, we will have all 
write well. 

The Classical Course should be what it was under the 
old regime^ improved by applying better class discipline. 

The School for Engineers should be modeled upon that 
of West Point. 

The Agricultural College should be similar to that of Ho] 
henheim, in Germany ; and it should successfully rival the 
numerous agricultural schools which are now organizing 
in America. 

The agricultural student should have English composi- 
tion and mathematics, to discipline his mind in powers of 
thought ; he should study French and German, to finish 
his scholarship, and to enable him to read those languages 
wherein he will find information so important to his pur- 
suit. Theoretical and practical chemistry will enable him 
to analyze his soil and products, so that they may be im- 
proved and adapted to each other. Animal and vegetable 
physiology, domestic architecture, practical surveying, the 
application of mechanics to machines, book-keeping, the 
laws of tenure, and the laws of enclosure will be studied. 

To provide for practical instruction in agriculture, some 
of the land belonging to the University should be coii^^ert- 
ed into a small farm, with all necessary buildings, imple- 
ments, and machines. Horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs, 



26 

shduid be raised ; and the land should fee thorougbly culti- 
vated. The products of this farm could be consumed in 
the mess»hall, and it might be made a source of profit — 
at least, it would be self-sustaining. Here, ihe student 
would learn the various operations of plowingj hoeing, 
reaping, threshing, ginning, budding, grafting, pruning, and 
the botany of agriculture. 

An agricultural museum, containing models of all im- 
proved implements and machines, and every variety of 
agricultural product, should be attached to the University. 
The manufacturers and producers of these articles would 
send, free of charge, samples to fill the museum. This 
feature of the institution would elicit the interest of every 
intelligent farmer and planter in the State. 

While the student is acquiring a knowledge of the 
principles, machines, and products, which are necessary 
in his pursuit, the excellent government of the University 
will teach him the value of order, system, perseverance, and 
self-reliance. The discipline to which he is subjected will 
prepare him for governing his employees. 

The value of military government for agricultural col- 
leges was so highly esteemed by Congress, that the law 
donating land for the establishment of such an institution, 
in each State, makes it incumbent that they shall provide 
military instruction. 

The Commercial College should, by requiring English, 
Mathematics, Modern Languages, and History, thoroughly 
discipline ■ and refine the mind; and by the stady of Pen- 
manship, Book- Keeping, Geography, Commercial Law, 
Political Economy, and Banking, the graduate will be 
prepared for his special business. This thorough course 
of disciplinary studies will make an accomplished scholar, 
prepared for further self-improvement, and fitted for the 
best society in any part of the world. The training to 
habits of industry, perseverance, system, order, and self- 
reliance, will be especially valuable to the business man. 



27 

Under the proposed organization of the University, the 
students will be formed in four separate and distinct classes. 
The members of each class will be inseparably m the same 
'Company. They will run the same race. To the victor 
will belong the crown, to the vanquished will be the shame. 
The great principles of rewards, punishments, and rivalry 
will operate upon each student as forcibly as at West 
Point ; and the degree of diligence in study will surprise 
all who have never before witnessed the operations of this 
class discipline. 

The classes will be divided into sections of twelve or 
flfteen members each. The lessons will be daily prepared 
from the text ; but the recitations will be held without 
any book. Each student must demonstrate or lecture 
daily, instead of the professor. Original problems, involv- 
ing the principles of the lesson, must be solved. In the 
practical sciences, such as chemistry, mineralogy, and sur- 
veying, each student will have his apparatus and instru- 
ments, and will be required to use and explain them. 

The numerical value of each recitation will be recorded 
daily, and reported to the superintendent weekly. On this 
report, the names will be arranged in order of merit. The 
particular pages which have been studied, Avill be desig- 
nated, and attention called to those students who have 
been negligent. 

By having a recitation from each student daily, the fail- 
ure to prepare a single lesson will be discovered; and the 
record of that failure will effect his class standing forever. 
So it is in life, that each individual is rewarded or pun- 
ished for each exertion or neglect ; but it has not been so 
in classical colleges, and this is one of their greatest defi- 
ciencies. 

At the close of the first session of five months, an 
examination of each class will be held by the faculty. The 
records of this examination will be combined with the 
weekly records, and the members of the class graded in 
.order of ,merit. A printed report will be made to the 



Governor, and circulated Ihroughout the State. Tliose 
who cannot be made to study, and who, by remaining', 
would prevent others, must be dismissed and reported defi- 
cient on the register. 

At the close of each scholastic year, a rigid examination 
will be held by the Board of Trustees, assisted by compe- 
tent and disting'uished examiners. The object of this should 
be to ascertain, whether or not the professors are compe- 
tent and faithful, as well as to learn the proficiency of 
students. The marks of this examination will be combined 
with those of the year, and the final grading of the classes 
will be made. To three or five of the best scholars, marks 
of distinction should be given, and the class grade of each 
pupil, published in the catalogue, year after year. 

To the distinguished graduates, special rewards should 
be given ; and they should be recommended to the Govern- 
or for special patronage by employment on the public 
works, if practicable. 

The special knowledge obtained under this class training 
and discipline, and the habits of order, system, self-reliance, 
and skill in government, taught by the dormitory disci- 
pline, will secure for the graduates popularity and employ- 
ment, just as the knowledge and discipline in military 
affairs gave cadets reputation and positions during the 
war. This will make the diploma the highest reward, and 
will be a powerful stimulus to every student. 

It may be imagined that the scheme proposed, will require 
a larger number of professors than usual, and will, conse- 
quently, be too expensive. But upon examination, the 
apparent objection will disappear. The division of the 
students into four schools, is simply equivalent to the divis- 
ion of the classes into sections, as is done in military 
institutions, where the cost does not exceed that of civil 
colleges. To give an instructor to every twelve or fifteeh 
students, they provide, at small cost, a large number of 
assistants, who are directly under the eye of the professors. 



29 

The graduates who are retained for barrack discipline, are 
required to perform a large amount of teaching. Being 
selected for the specific purpose of instruction, and having 
themselves been most thoroughly taught in the peculiar 
modes of instruction, they are much better assistants than 
graduates of other colleges. They are most competent, 
and, what is equally important, they can easily be made to 
do as the professor, in charge of the department, requires. 

In the senior class, there can always be found two or 
three sub-graduates who will teach the rudiments of the 
course as well as the professor, and they will perform the 
work to the satisfaction of all concerned. The distinction 
of assistant professor with his board, or less, will induce 
such a young man to teach one or two hours per day. 

The professor in charge of the department conducts in 
person the recitations of the higher classes, and inspects 
once or twice a week the manner in which the lower clashes 
and their assistants are performing. Occasionally, he con- 
ducts for several days the recitations of the lower classes. 

At the close of the week, the assistant makes an accurate 
report of each recitation, and cites the particular pages 
which have been studied. The professor receives this 
report ; and, after giving the assistant minute directions for 
the following week, he transmits it, along with his own, 
to the superintendent. 

In this way, a most efficient system of instruction is ad- 
ministered. The largest possible amount of excellent teachi 
ing is obtained at the least possible cost. So it is at West 
Point and in the military schools of South Carolina and 
Virginia ; and thus it was that the military department of ' 
this University prepared and furnished during the war 
instructors for nearly every squad, company, and regiment 
of Alabama. It should now furnish as efficient teachers of 
the arts of peace. 

To demonstrate, positively, the economy of lhis*plan, let 
us make the calculations. When the college was in oper- 



30 

ation under the open system, there were, for. two hundred 
students, the following :^- 

1. President, and Professor of Mental and 

Moral Science, - - - $2,500 00 

2. Professor of Natural Philosophy, - '2,000 00 

3. Professor of Chemistry & Mineralogy, 2,000 00 

4. Professor of Rhetoric and Logic, 2,000 00 

5. Professor of Modern Languages, 2,000 00 

6. Professor of Latin and Greek, 2,000 00 

7. Professor of Mathematics, 2,000 00 

8. Assistant Professor of Latin and Greek, 1,000 00 
9, 10, 11. Three Assistant Instructors of Tactics, 2,400 00 

12, One Commandant of Cadets, 2,000 00 



Total, - - - - ^19,900 00 

Putting the salaries at old prices, the plan proposed will 

require for two hundred students, fifteen in each recitation 

section, the professors teaching four or five hours per day, 

the following : — 

1. Superintendent, and Professor of Mental and 

Moral Science, .... $2,500 00 

Mental and Moral Science will be in the senior class of 
tho literary course only, and one or two hours per 
day will suffice. 

2. Professor of Natural Philosophy, - - , - 2,000 00 

This subject is taught in the higher classes only. Of the 
two huudred students, not more thau sixty will be pur- 
suing this subject. Four hours will teach these in 
sections of fifteen. 

3- Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy, - - 2,000 00 

4. Assistant Professor of Chemistry, .... 800 00 

This subject will be in the second year's course, and 
there will not be more than one hundred and twenty 
in the departiijent. The professor, assisted by one 
paid assistaut and by one sub-graduate, can thorough- 
ly instruct them. 

5. Professor of Rhetoric and Logic, .... 2,000 00 

6. Assistant Professor of English, ..... 800 00 

The members of the freshman and sophomore classes 
v^ll recite daily, and the seniors and juniors will re- 
cite tri-weekly. The professor, one assistant, and 
one sub-graduate, can teach the two hundred. 



7. Professor of Modern Languages, - - - 2,000 00 

These will require two years, and there will be reciting 
datlj, about one hundred gtudeuls. The professor and 
two sub-graduates can instruct them. 

8. Professor of Latin and Greek, - - . . 2,000 00 

These will be taught in the Classical Course only,- and 
will not embrace more than lil'ty students. One pro- 
fessor will suffice, 

9. Professor of Mathematics, 2,000 00 

10. Assistant Professor of Mathematics, - - 800 00 

This will be taught in the freshman and sophomore 
classes only, and there will be not more than one 
hundred and fifty students in the department. The 
professor, one assistant, and two sub-graduates can 
perform the work. 

11. Commandant, and Professor of Engineering, 2,000 00 

12. Instructor of Book Keeping, Penmanship 

and Drawing, 1,000 00 



Total cost of proposed plan, - $19,900 00 

For two or three years, there will not probably be any 
members of the junior and senior classes, nor a full corps of 
students ; and the professors will not be occupied so much 
as I have counted. When there shall be two hundred 
students, the income of the University Avill justify the em- 
ployment of additional professors ; and this will be quite as 
early as the classes will require additional professofs of 
applied sciences. 

The fees heretofore paid the surgeon, can be slightly 
increased, and made sufficient to employ all his time and 
require him to serve as professor of animal and vegetable 
physiology and veterinary practice. 

A written scheme of daily recitations has been prepared, 
and it demonstrates beyond question the practicability of 
the plan in its hourly operations. The recitations are 
easily arranged without conflict. The organization of the 
classes being permanent, and the professors being responsi- 
ble to the superintendent, the whole system will work 
charmingly. 

By requiring professors to teach four or five hours per 



82 

#ay, by having the "assistants ia discipline" perform aija- 
deraic work, and by using sub-graduates, we will get about 
four times more work, devoted to the improvement of the 
students, than under the lecture system ; and I risk nothing 
in saying that a pupil, under these searching recitations, will 
derive an advantage more than twenty fold. 

To extend as far as possible the usefulness of the institu- 
tion as a normal school, and to develop the dormant talent 
of the State, the Legislature, in providing for the system of 
general instruction, should appropriate funds sufficient to 
give board and tuition at the University to one worthy 
beneficiary from each senatorial district,^ who should be 
required to teach in the State two years after graduating. 

The low grade of scholarship of the applicants for admis- 
sion here and the subsequent failure of many, are attributa- 
ble to the inefficiency and want of skill on the part of 
instructors in the common schools. 

It is a notorious fact, that the majority of teachers are 
men, who, finding themselves unable and unfit to do any- * 
thing else, have adopted this profession as a dernier resort. 
— In the name of common sense, what can we expect under 
such a system ! Nothing, but waste of money, the sacrifice 
of youthful mindsj and the degradation of the country's 
dearest interest. 

The only remedy for the evil is the organization of a 
system vvhich will prepare teachers for their special business, 
and the enactment of a law Avhich will require, and encour- 
age, the devotion of the highest talents to this important 
profession. 

Elementary instruction Avith us is what it was in some 
of the older States until they adopted the policy of educating 
beneficiaries. This principle has been most successfully 
inaugurated in military schools, where the uniformity of 
dress and the rewards for good conduct, remove all distinc- 
tions between rich and poor. 

A history of these State graduates and of their present 

4 



33 

positions of usefulness, should be sufficient argument lo 
induce an enlightened public to be instrumental in a work 
so advantageous and so noble. These men, after having 
fulfilled their obligations to their States by teaching two 
years, and thereby assisting in elevating the system of 
instruction, are now holding the most lucrative and honor- 
able positions. They are rendering a rich return for the 
education which was given them, and their entire common- 
wealths bless the legislators whose wisdom established the 
ordinances. 

Before organizing this University upon the system of 
individual responsibility, herein recommended, it will be 
necessary to prepare a code of by-laws, or regulations, 
which shall define minutely the duties of every, officer and 
student. It is advisable to have them made before appoint- 
ing the professors, so that they may be chosen to discharge 
duties already prescribed. 

An administration ably directed by these laws, with the 
thorough Instruction which we have indicated, will not be 
long in producing its impression upon the State and its 
■various material and educational interests. 

For training teachers, this University will be the most 
excellent Normal School in the South. She will have no 
successful rival ; for no system can be better adapted to 
preparing instructors than where the pupil is made to 
demonstrate and lecture in every subject throughout his 
four years course. 

This is no mere theory and conjecture ; for it has been 
found, and is now fully acknowledged, in those States 
where military colleges have been introduced, that the 
graduates of these institutions are superior to other teachers 
in the subjects in which they give instructioh. 

Although it was a time honored law, or custom, of one 
of the most excellent State Universities, that only her 
graduates should fill her chairs, after the establishment of a 
military academy in that State, upon the West Point model, 



and the introduction of the graduates as teachers of mathe- 
matics and its cognate branches, the University was com- 
pelled to employ, and constantly provide, West Point 
graduates for the chair of mathematics, in order to* hold 
place in this department with the rival military school. 
And in that State> the eleves of the Military Institute fill the' 
scientific and mathematical chairs in most of the academies 
and colleges. The reputation of the system of scientific 
instruction is as great in all the States, where the military 
colleges have been Operated. The superiority of this 
French, or Polytechnic method of instruction, for practical 
sciences, admits of no discussion. 

If the purely military schools, teaching simply mathemat- 
ics and sciences, have, by this method of instruction, ac- 
complished so much, what may we expect, with four col- 
leges in one, each as thorough as West Point, teaching 
more English than any other institution, and providing a 
course of study fully adapted to the demands of the age,— - 
not only giving instruction in every needed department, but 
compelling teachers and scholars to work ? 

Moreover, under this organization, we shall be justly en- 
titled to the endowment of our Agricultural College ; for 
we shall fulfill all the requirements of the law of Congress, 
and will doubtless be enabled to secure the donation of 
land. 

The act of 1862, grants to each State an amount of land 
equal to thirty thousand acres, for each representative to 
which the State is entitled in the Congress of the United 
States. It provides : "That the interest derived frorn this 
land, shall be inviolably appropriated by each State, which 
may take and claim the benefit of this act, to the endow- 
ment, support, and maintenance of at least one College^ 
where the leading object shall be, without excluding other 
scientific and classical studies, and including military tac- 
tics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to ag- 
riculture, and other mechanic .arts, in such manner as the 



85 

legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order 
to promote the liberal and practical education of the indus- 
trial classes, in the several pursuits and professions of life." 

The plan proposed for our Agricultural College, under 
class and barrack discipline, harmonizes most beautifully 
with the designs of Congress. If an individual college 
should be founded under this act, it would probably not sd 
Well "promote the liberal and practical education of the 
industrial classes, in the several pursuits and professions of 
life ;" and while such a special school would benefit but one 
class of society, we will provide for all ,*— the horticultural- 
ist, the farmer, the commercial man, the miner, the engi- 
neer, the physician, the lawyer, and the divine. 

"ithe learned and able Dr. J. C. Nott> in a letter donating 
a large number of valuable books to this University, just 
before his departure from Mobile, said ; " I present these 
books to the University, because I regard it as the great 
lever of its generation." By a judicious policy of the insti- 
tution, this hope will^ realize its fruition. Under the system 
of slavery, ignorance and idleness might acquire and main- 
tain wealth ; under free institutions, the individual must 
depend upon habits of order, system, self-reliance, and a dis- 
ciplined mind, stored with knowledge pertaining to his 
special pursuit. "Fortunes do not now grow as formerly. 
Under the new regime, the young man who is not trained 
to the highest demands of the arts of life, must go by the 
boardi" 

By dii-ectly benefiting arid meeting' the wants of Alaba- 
mians^ and conferring inestimable blessings upon so large 
a number, we will endear the College to their hearts. The 
divine, the physician, and the lawyer shall feel everlasting 
gratitude for the classical and literary benefits offered, and 
for the discipline which induced them to study. The farmer 
shall know that, to this University, he is indebted for that 
knowledge of the science and art of agriculture, and for 
that acquaintance with the principles of government, which 



make him, when a young man, a more successful husband- 
man than his untutored but aged neighbor. Parents shall 
be convinced that one dollar expended on their sons at this 
institution, returns, in kind, a hundred fold. Here, shall 
be prepared the engineers who shall construct the roads 
and develop the mineral resources of the State. The man 
of commerce shall find for his son a school that eminently 
fits him for ,a world-wide trade. At this great and une- 
qualled Normal School, will be prepared the teachers and 
professors for the State. And there will await every grad- 
uate, profitable and honorable employment. 

In conclusion, it may be proper to say, that in the fore- 
going extended observations on a system of education for 
this University, I may have done a work of supereroga- 
tion ; but my former connection with the institution as pro- 
fessor, and afterwards as commandant of cadets, and my 
present position as architect, desiring to see the completion 
of the building, and above all, the interest I feel in the wel- 
fare of my adopted State, must be ifij sufficient apology 
for proposing this new scheme of organization, not else- 
where in full perfection in Europe or America. A long 
experience with the virtues and defects of the prevailing 
systems of education, convinces me of the soundness of the 
views here presented. That this plan, when promulgated, 
will be applied to the aggrandizement of some institution, 
I feel assured ; and it is the earnest wish of my heart, that 
this University, which I have so long and so fondly served, 
may derive the first and the greatest advantage. 
I have the honor to be, 

Your obedient servant, 

JAMES T. MURFEE, 

Ardiitecl. 



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